GDC Festival of Gaming welcomed over 20,000 unique attendees in 2026. The game industry conference rebranded last year and implemented a major pricing overhaul and simplified pass structure in an effort to make content more accessible to attendees.
The week-long showcase took place from March 9 to March 13 at the Moscone Center and Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA in San Francisco, California.
The event hosted over 700 cross-disciplinary sessions from 1,100 speakers, thousands of networking meetings, and more than 300 exhibitors.
According to organizer Informa Festivals, last year’s event attracted 30,000 attendees—including 6,000 across the GDC Nights evening program.
“This was the first year of a bold new concept for GDC,” said GDC president Nina Brown in a press release. “We are thrilled that 20,000 unique attendees representing our global community showed up from over 85 countries and trusted us with this evolution.
“The energy across the Festival, from packed sessions to a vibrant show floor and thousands of meetings happening throughout the week, demonstrates how powerful it is when our industry comes together to learn from one another, build partnerships and shape what comes next for games. This transformation was built directly from community feedback, and we’re excited to continue listening, learning, and evolving the GDC Festival of Gaming as we look ahead to 2027.”
GDC will return to the Moscone Center next year from March 1 to March 5, 2027. The call for submissions for the GDC Festival of Gaming will open in early July 2026.
Game Developer and GDC Festival of Gaming are siblings under Informa Festivals.